Should I Lift Weights While on a Diet?

If you’re embarking on a weight loss journey, you may be considering whether or not you should take up weightlifting. After all, lifting weights is one of the best types of exercise – it improves body composition, increases your metabolism, and makes you stronger and fitter. Furthermore, excellent results can be achieved in only a few hours per week.

So, why do some people not lift weights?

Well, first of all, lifting weights is hard work. It’s not like a slow jog, where boredom is the biggest detriment. It’s hard work – you may sweat and huff and puff, even though you’re not doing a cardio workout. Your body will be sore during the workout and the day after. Nobody thinks weightlifting is easy – however, for the time spent, the gains are astronomical.

Young or old, male or female; you’ll benefit from lifting weights. If you ever want to look like a naturally skinny person after weight loss, lifting weights now is an absolute necessity. If you lift weights while losing weight, you’ll lose mostly fat. If you don’t, you’ll lose a mix of fat and muscle – your body will be eating itself, even though you are most likely currently overweight.

It’s a common misconception that lifting weights will cause a woman to become big and bulky. That’s completely untrue – the images you have in your head of unnatural looking women who look like huge male bodybuilders is just that – unnatural. Women don’t have enough testosterone to build significant amount of muscle mass – women don’t accidentally look like bodybuilders. It takes years of dedication (with a direct focus on building a large amount of muscle) and tons of steroids for a woman to even approach the bulky look that so many women are afraid of.

For men, lifting weights will finally give you the body you’ve always wanted to have – the six pack, the big arms, etc. If you aren’t lifting weights, you’re not doing nearly enough to achieve the body you desire.

In the end, if you’re doing any exercise at all, weightlifting should be a part of that repertoire. For the time investment, you really can’t get any better.

Melissa Becker

Ever since losing over 50 lbs. in 2010, I’ve been writing informative blog posts and reviews for various diet products, such as teas, pills, and supplements. All products have been personally tested, in order to get the full story before posting it on this site.